The Museum of Broadcast Communications (or MBC) does not currently exist in a physical location, but is planned to be located in Chicago, Illinois. Its mission is "to collect, preserve, and present historic and contemporary radio and television content as well as educate, inform, and entertain through our archives, public programs, screenings, exhibits, publications and online access to our resources."

The museum is slated to reopen in a building on State and Kinzie Streets. The new museum building has undergone several delays in its development due to a fiscal stalemate with the State of Illinois. It was originally scheduled to open in Spring 2005 and later in 2009, but its half-completed building was recently slated to be sold due to lack of funds, which CEO Bruce Dumont blames on lack of state funds.

Encyclopedia of Television

The MBC maintains an on-line resource called "The Encyclopedia of Television" [139600]. This includes original essays relating to historic moments and trends, major policy disputes and such topics as violence, tabloid television and the quiz show scandal. It also includes histories of major television networks as well as broadcasting systems around the world and is complemented by resource materials, photos and bibliographical information.

The Great Debate and Beyond

Chicago played host to the first presidential debate on television. The debate between Richard M. Nixon and John F. Kennedy took place September 26, 1960, at WBBM-TV's former studios on McClurg Court. In the words of historian Theodore White, "American politics has never been the same since." The MBC has created an interactive, multimedia online exhibition celebrating this long relationship called The "Great Debate and Beyond: The History of Televised Presidential Debates" [139601].

External links

• The Museum of Broadcast Communications

References